


Fading Starlight

by Rushpaw



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: AU, I might continue this into a full series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 10:53:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14932874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rushpaw/pseuds/Rushpaw
Summary: An AU where Dovepaw trains in the Dark Forest instead of Ivypaw





	Fading Starlight

Dovepaw was standing in a flowery field. The sky was an odd bluish shade, and even though there was light covering everything, the sun was nowhere to be seen. Confused, she  took a tentative step forward, testing her surroundings. Beneath her paw, she could feel grass, but it felt almost… muted. Like she was touching it through a layer of something else. As she thought about it more, she realised everything around her- the warmth, the air, the dust- felt like that. Not wrong, but not quite right either. 

Worry worming in her insides, Dovepaw cast out her senses. She expected to scent the rich soil and flowers that surrounded her, but instead, a damp, musty odor hit her nose, like a cat who hadn’t bathed themself in years. She gagged instinctively and pulled back, trying to rid herself of the smell. She swayed a bit on her paws. What was going on?

Suddenly, there was a noise from behind her. “Hello.” 

Dovepaw whirled around and came face to face with a brown and white tom with cool blue eyes. “I’m Hawkfrost. And you’re Dovepaw, aren’t you?” The tom tilted his head.

“Y-yeah.” Dovepaw stammered dumbly. She had no idea who this cat was or where he had come from, but maybe he could help. “D- do you know what’s going on? I was just asleep, and then-”

Hawkfrost tutted softly, cutting her off. “I’m sorry Dovepaw,” he mewed. “You must’ve been so frightened. I’ll explain everything, in due time of course.” He bowed his head slightly. “Right now, you are dreaming.”

“Dreaming?” Dovepaw echoed incredulously. But the moment he said, it she knew it was true. Another thing she knew immediately- this cat she was speaking to was not a figment of her imagination, the way other cats in her dreams were. The atmosphere around her, the feeling Hawkfrost was giving off all felt real. Dovepaw took this in more and began to think. Based on his vaguely see-through body, she figured he was a spirit. And, since he had a Clan name, that could only mean one thing… 

“Are you a StarClan cat?” she demanded. “Because if you’re here to give me another prophecy or something, I don’t want it. Give it to Jayfeather- I mean, that’s his job. StarClan’s already ruined my life enough. I don’t want them to ruin it more.”

Hawkfrost didn’t even seem fazed at her speil. In fact, if anything, he looked amused. “You know, I’ve never seem a cat so young with such strong opinions on her warrior ancestors. Why are you so adamantly against StarClan?”  

Dovepaw hesitated. Should she tell him the truth? Lionblaze always told her she couldn’t tell a single living soul about her powers. Could she disobey him for this cat she hardly knew?

“You can trust me, you know.” Hawkfrost said evenly. She turned to look at him. He was playing calmly with a blade of grass. Dovepaw flicked her tail. Technically, he wasn’t a living soul, was he? And he seemed so kind and sincere. She decided to give him a rundown.

“See, there’s this... prophecy,” she began. “And I’m part of it. But you see, I don’t want to be. I just want to be like everyone else. A normal warrior.” She started to speed up, her voice rising in pitch. “And I never even get to pretend to be normal because my mentor is always taking me to special prophecy training and I’m never with the other apprentices. And when I train I can never do anything good enough. I think my mentor’s mad at me because the cat he wanted to be in the prophecy died and now he only has me and he doesn’t like me. And my  _ sister.  _ My sister is always mad because she thinks I’m full of myself and ignoring her because the older warriors always ask my opinion and praise me, but I don’t know how to tell her I don’t want them to treat me like that either!” She took a breath. “And it’s all StarClan’s fault because they’re the ones who chose me, but I don’t know why! They tell me I have an important job to do, but then they don’t tell me how to do it! I just- I want it to stop. I hate it.” She sniffled. “I hate  _ them.  _ Is that awful of me?”

Hawkfrost’s eyes were round with empathy. “No, of course not. It’s not awful to feel things. StarClan has wronged you, and they should know it.”

Dovepaw looked up. “I just want to be normal. Not have to worry, same as every other cat. That’s all.”

“And that’s what I’m here to help with!” Hawkfrost exclaimed. “Now, can you tell me how your powers are working here?” 

Dovepaw blinked. Had she told him about her powers? She figured she must have at some point during her explanation. Oops. If she had, she figured it didn’t matter much what else he knew now. “They’re kind of clogged up here,” she admitted.

“That’s exactly what I expected,” Hawkfrost said with a nod. “Now, I have an offer for you. I want you to train with me. We’ll work together here at night, when you dream. You’ll learn how to do things as everyone else does- without your powers. I think it would be comforting to know you’re able to succeed, powers or not. You’ll be a better warrior for your Clan, and you’ll show StarClan they don’t have to define you.” He grinned at her. “So what do you say?”

Dovepaw stared. She could feel her heart beating in her chest. He was offering everything she ever wanted. She could be like everyone else. She wanted to say yes, more than anything. But something was still bothering her. “I want to say yes,” she started hesitatingly, “But… I have to ask you something. Who are you? I mean,” She shook her head. “You’re obviously dead, and you have a Clan name. But when you talk about StarClan, it sounds almost like you’re talking about some other group. So what’s going on? Where are we?”

Hawkfrost looked down. It almost seemed like he was expecting that question. “I’m going to be honest with you. Just… promise you won’t run. Okay?”

Dovepaw nodded, intrigued. She watched as Hawkfrost closed his eyes and began muttering beneath his breath. Without warning, the beautiful field melted away, leaving a twisted old forest. The smell she had scented earlier filled her nostrils, and she coughed wildly. It was overwhelming, and she struggled to catch her breath. Finally, a few moments later, she looked up. Hawkfrost was facing away from her. 

“This is my home,” he said, without turning. “The place where those who StarClan deem unworthy spend eternity.”

Dovepaw gasped. “But that’s terrible!” 

“It’s how it is.” Hawkfrost faced her, meeting her gaze. “I’m sorry I wasn’t truthful before. It’s just- now you can see the extent of StarClan's injustice. I didn’t want to scare you away.” He blinked caringly. “I want to help you. You’re like me. StarClan has hurt you. But you deserve better. You deserve more. To be more than just what StarClan told you you could be.”

Dovepaw smiled shakily. “No- I understand why you lied. I would’ve been pretty scared if I’d woken up here. But you did explain everything when I asked. Not many cats seem keen on explaining things to me these days.” She took a deep breath, ignoring the barely tolerable scent. “I want to train with you.”

Hawkfrost's eyes glinted in the dark. “I knew you weren’t a fool Dovepaw. We’ll start tomorrow. The sun will rise soon, and I want you well rested for day training. I know how hard Lionblaze can push you. Oh, and one more thing.” His gaze became cold. “You can’t tell anyone about this. Living or dead. Or else I won’t train with you anymore. Do you understand?”

“Of course.” 

The intensity left his face as quickly as it had came, and he grinned. “I knew I could trust you Dovepaw.” Without warning, the world shifted. Dovepaw struggled to stay upright, but Hawkfrost seemed unaffected. “You’re waking up now. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night!” She called. The ground had begun dissolving under Dovepaws feet. Closing her eyes, she let the nothingness swallow her whole.

Suddenly, she was awake in her nest. She took in a shaky breath. Her dream, Hawkfrost, the promise he had made her make. She let out a sharp laugh. She couldn’t tell anyone. That wouldn’t be hard. The only cat she’d be tempted to tell would be Ivypaw, and they weren’t even on speaking terms. She looked at the rest of the cats sleeping in her den. Blossompaw and Bumblepaw were nice enough, but she didn’t know them too well. Briarpaw was probably her best friend among the apprentices, but even then, they weren’t that close. She couldn’t relate to the other cats her age. Their heads were full of hunting patrols and battle training, things that seemed moons away from her world of prophecies and powers.  

She smiled to herself with a sudden realization. Maybe, life didn’t have to be like that.  Things would change soon. She would learn how to be normal. She’d be like everyone else. Calmly, Dovepaw settled back into her nest and closed her eyes, even though her mind was racing. Hawkfrost had been right, the sun was just peeking above the horizon. Soon, she’d be called out for training with Lionblaze. But that didn’t matter to her. She could be more than what Lionblaze- than what StarClan- thought she could be. All she needed was a little help.

She couldn’t wait for tomorrow. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This was originally meant to be a conceptual one-shot type thing, but now that I've written it, I'm tempted to flesh it out into a full series. If you'd be interested in that, make sure to let me know!! Also, check out my tumblr, @rushpaw if you want for more warriors content!


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